DISINFO: Belarus is the target of a hybrid war, union with Russia will save it from military intervention
SUMMARY
The recent conspiracy against Alexander Lukashenka proves that hybrid war is being waged against Belarus. Its goal is to take the authorities down by all means, including forceful mechanisms with the exemption of direct military intervention. Without alliance with Russia, western countries would consider military intervention as well.
RESPONSE
The disinformation message is consistent with recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives about the aggressive West and NATO and protests in Belarus. It also tends to promote the Kremlin's view that Belarus can only preserve its sovereignty in a close political and military alliance with Russia.
There is no evidence that Western countries staged massive unprecedented protests in Belarus following the 9 August 2020 presidential elections or that they wage the so-called "hybrid war" against Belarus. Read more about this groundless claim here.
On 17 April 2021, Belarusian ruler Alexander Lukashenko claimed he and his sons were the target of a US-backed assassination plot but did not provide any evidence.
See earlier disinformation cases alleging that the Belarusian opposition, civic activists and independent journalists make kill lists for Western security bodies, that Lukashenko skipped the Eastern Partnership summit in 2019 because the West could organise his killing and that Biden sanctioned a coup in Belarus and the kidnapping of Lukashenko's sons.